USDA Expands Reorganization, Shifting Hundreds of DC Staff to Regional Hubs

USDA announced a broader expansion of its post-DC reorganization, moving hundreds more employees to regional hubs. FSIS will relocate about two-thirds of its DC-area staff to new sites, including a National Food Safety Center in Urbandale, Iowa and a Science Center in Athens, Georgia, with roughly 200 DC FSIS workers moving and frontline inspectors largely unaffected. ERS, NIFA, and NASS staff will shift to Kansas City and St. Louis, while ARS will decommission the Beltsville campus and relocate research nationwide. About 100 roles remain in DC for policy and congressional work. The move continues reforms begun under the first Trump administration and aims to modernize operations and better connect researchers with producers.